Aerospace Information Research Institute
Profile
| Official Chinese name | 中国科学院空天信息创新研究院 |
|---|---|
| Official English name | Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences |
| Chinese aliases | 空天院 |
| English aliases | Institute of Space Science and Technology, Institute of Aerospace Science and Technology, Aerospace Information Research Institute |
| Acronyms | AIRCAS |
| Research fields | Optoelectronic engineering, aerospace, and applied science and technology |
| Total employee count | 4,500 (as of 30 June 2025) |
Summary
Aerospace Information Research Institute is categorised as a Core Defence Partner based on the following indicators:
- Defence advisor
- 4 indicators
- Defence award
- 2 indicators
- Defence funding
- 3 indicators
- Defence laboratory
- 3 indicators
- Military-technology patent
- 4 indicators
- Research collaboration with defence entities
- 4 indicators
A core defence partner is deeply involved in research and programmes that strengthen and sustain China’s defence capabilities. Senior figures may help steer national defence research priorities; many of its researchers and projects have recently been recognised for addressing defence needs; a significant body of current work is sponsored by defence organisations; it runs laboratories aligned with military objectives; produces a large number of defence-related patents in recent years; and/or publishes extensively and regularly with defence institutions. Together, these patterns show that defence work is routine, largescale and built into the institute’s operations and identity.
Rules-based framework
| Rule | Resulting category |
|---|---|
| Two or more indicators = 4 | Core defence partner |
| One indicator = 4 and two indicators = 3 or Three or more indicators = 3 | Regular defence partner |
| One indicator = 4 and one indicator = 3 and all other indicators = 1 or 2 or Two indicators = 3 and all other indicators = 1 or 2 | Limited defence partner |
| All indicators between 0 and 2 | Civilian institute |
| Three or more indicators = 0 | Insufficient data |
Note: All indicators operate on a 0 to 4 scale. There are a total of six indicators.
For more information on the graded scales see the user guide.
Defence advisory roles
Since the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020), one member of the leadership of the Aerospace Information Research Institute has held successive appointments as an expert in fields such as situation awareness and operational control technology, as well as satellite ground application system technology.[1] While no public information could be found to shed more light on these appointments and the expert committees they pertained to, the topics that the member advised on have clear dual-use applications.
Other members of the institute’s leadership have possibly not served on defence-related expert committees. However, because the underlying data are outdated and lack sufficient detail, this assessment is made with low confidence, and such service by any member of the leadership cannot be fully ruled out.
Defence awards
Available information indicates that researchers from the Aerospace Information Research Institute have received at least 30 separate defence awards over time. These include two National Defence Science and Technology Awards, 10 National Defence Science and Technology Progress Awards, 2 National Defence Technology Invention Awards, 15 Military Science and Technology Progress Awards, and 1 Most Beautiful Science and Technology Worker Award.[2]
Of the 30 awards identified, four were awarded while the researcher was at the Aerospace Information Research Institute. Another 19 awards were not dated, but further analysis found that for 18 of these awards the associated researchers had spent significant time at other institutes, most commonly the CAS Institute of Electronics. It is therefore unlikely that the awards were tied to their work at the Aerospace Information Research Institute. One instance of the National Defence Science and Technology Award was not tied to a specific researcher, but rather to a specific laboratory within the institute.[3] However, it was not possible to confirm which year it was granted.
Only one identified award has been granted since 2021: a Most Beautiful Science and Technology Worker Award, granted to a researcher at the Aerospace Information Research Institute in 2025.[4]
Researchers and projects at the Aerospace Information Research Institute have possibly received only one defence award since 2021. However, because the underlying data are outdated and incomplete, this assessment is made with low confidence. Other defence awards granted to researchers or projects from the institute cannot be ruled out.
Defence funding
Between 2021 and 2025, researchers from the Aerospace Information Research Institute authored 41 publications funded by Chinese defence entities, placing the institute in the 61st percentile among the CAS institutes included in this analysis. Of the 5,500 authors affiliated with the Aerospace Information Research Institute who published during this period, 78 (1 per cent) had at least one defence-funded publication. However, it is not possible to attribute specific funding to individual researchers based solely on publication data.
Defence laboratories
No publicly available information suggests that this institute hosts or is affiliated with any known defence laboratories. However, two laboratories, not categorised as defence laboratories, referenced links to defence activities on their Chinese‑language website. General references to promoting national security or defence are common on CAS laboratory websites. These statements often serve as broad affirmations of alignment with national policy objectives – a routine expression of support for government priorities that can be important for maintaining institutional standing, access to funding or official recognition – rather than firm evidence that the laboratory conducts defence-related research.
Key Laboratory of Spatial Information Processing and Application System Technology
| Name | Key Laboratory of Spatial Information Processing and Application System Technology [空间信息处理与应用系统技术重点实验室] |
|---|---|
| Research topics | Aerospace vehicle control systems, aerospace data processing, digital space simulations, civil and commercial satellite operation |
| Defence ties | According to its website, this laboratory ‘promotes the widespread application of intelligent perception technology in the fields of national defence and security’.[5] |
State Key Laboratory of Sensing Technology
| Name | State Key Laboratory of Sensing Technology [传感技术国家重点实验室] |
|---|---|
| Research topics | Micro‑nano sensors and processing technologies |
| Defence ties | A collaboration notice from this laboratory states that it contributes to the ‘national economy and national defence construction’.[6] |
Military-technology patents
Between 2021 and 2025, the Aerospace Information Research Institute was granted 49 military-technology patents, placing it in the 98th percentile among the CAS institutes included in this analysis. A total of 269 inventors affiliated with the Aerospace Information Research Institute were listed on these patents.
Research collaboration with defence entities
Between 2021 and 2025, researchers from the Aerospace Information Research Institute co-authored 956 publications with at least one Chinese defence entity, placing the institute in the 92nd percentile among the CAS institutes included in this analysis.
These collaborations include 80 publications with PLA academic institutions, 485 with defence laboratories, 1 with a military hospital, 408 with members of the Seven Sons of National Defence, 155 with members of the Seven Sons of Ordnance Industry and 13 with defence conglomerates.
Of the 5,500 authors affiliated with the Aerospace Information Research Institute who published during this period, 1,145 (21 per cent) had at least one defence-related collaboration.
Return to directoryNotes
All cited web content was viewed at its original website location; however, to ensure ongoing accessibility we are providing links to Internet Archive versions here.
- Aerospace Information Research Institute. 2023. ‘Researcher: Hu Yuxin.’ [研究员: 胡玉新]. As of 5 March 2026.Return to content⤴
- Aerospace Information Research Institute. 2021. ‘Wu Xiayi selected as a key technical talent by the Chinese Academy of Sciences.’ [吴侠义入选中国科学院关键技术人才]. As of 6 April 2026; Aerospace Information Research Institute. 2025. ‘Researcher Xu Guoning … Most Beautiful Scientific and Technological Worker in 2025.’ [空天院徐国宁研究员获2025年宇航领域“最美科技工作者”称号]; Aerospace Information Research Institute. 2014. ‘080901 Physical Electronics.’ [080901 物理电子学]; Aerospace Information Research Institute. 2018. ‘Researcher: Lü Xiaode.’ [研究员：吕晓德]; Aerospace Information Research Institute. 2023. ‘Researcher: Shen Bin.’ [研究员：沈斌]; Aerospace Information Research Institute. 2018. ‘Researcher: Hu Yanfeng.’ [研究员：胡岩峰]; Aerospace Information Research Institute. 2018. ‘Researcher: Tan Rongqing.’ [研究员：谭荣清]; Aerospace Information Research Institute. 2018. ‘Researcher: Li Fei.’ [研究员：李飞]; Aerospace Information Research Institute. 2023. ‘Researcher: Zheng Yijun.’ [研究员：郑义军]; Aerospace Information Research Institute. 2023. ‘Researcher: Ding Haibing.’ [研究员：丁海兵]; Aerospace Information Research Institute. 2025. ‘Researcher: Wang Xiaolong.’ [研究员：王小龙]; Aerospace Information Research Institute. 2023. ‘Researcher: Liang Weibin.’ [研究员：梁维斌]; Aerospace Information Research Institute. 2023. ‘Researcher: Wang Lei.’ [研究员：王磊]; Aerospace Information Research Institute. 2023. ‘Researcher: Zhang Daobing.’ [研究员：张道兵]; Aerospace Information Research Institute. 2023. ‘Researcher: Wang Pei.’ [研究员：王沛]; Aerospace Information Research Institute. 2023. ‘Researcher: Wu Yuanfeng.’ [研究员：吴远峰]; Aerospace Information Research Institute. 2018. ‘Researcher: Zhang Bing.’ [研究员：张兵]; Aerospace Information Research Institute. 2023. ‘Researcher: Li Chao.’ [研究员：李超]; Aerospace Information Research Institute. 2023. ‘Researcher: Deng Yunkai.’ [研究员：邓云凯].Return to content⤴
- Shan Dong Laboratory of Aerospace Information Research. 2025. ‘The second department of the Key Laboratory of Spatial Information Processing and Application System Technology.’ [空间信息处理与应用系统技术重点实验室二部]. As of 8 April 2026.Return to content⤴
- Aerospace Information Research Institute. 2025. ‘Researcher Xu Guoning … Most Beautiful Scientific and Technological Worker in 2025.’ [空天院徐国宁研究员获2025年宇航领域“最美科技工作者”称号]. As of 6 April 2026. Return to content⤴
- Beijing Institute of Collaborative Innovation. 2021. ‘A delegation from the State Key Laboratory of Sensing Technology . . . visited the institute for exchanges.’ [中国科学院空天信息创新研究院传感技术国家重点实验室一行到研究院进行交流]. 26 March. As of 8 April 2026.Return to content⤴
- Beijing Institute of Collaborative Innovation, as above (2021).Return to content⤴